Question about volunteering

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

I am hoping some experienced nurses can give me an opinion about volunteering as a nursing student in hopes of gaining some experience.

I am going into the 3rd semester in an ADN program this fall. I have been unsuccessfully looking for a PRN PCT job in hopes of getting my foot in the door at a local hospital. I haven't been employed in almost 10 years - I was a stay at home mom and worked for one year in my son's preschool class as a teachers assistant a few years ago before going back to school.

So I contacted the local birth center and offered to volunteer for them to gain some experience. They said yes, and I am really excited! I feel this will look good on my resume as well as give me some very valuable experience! I am sure if I do a great job, I will also have another valuable reference and also make connections! I am a hopeful NICU nurse and eventually a NNP (neonatal nurse practitioner), so I feel getting to know healthy mothers and babies is a great place to start!

Do you all think this is a good way to get started and gain some credibility as I try to reenter the workforce next summer?

Other than volunteering, I hope to be an excellent student at the local hospitals where I will do clinicals and make some impressions and connections.

Thanks y'all!

[RNperdiem, RN]

It depends on exactly what you will be doing as a volunteer. Where I work, you do not get to go near a patient without some kind of qualification (RN, MD, CNA).

Volunteers here tend to answer the phone in the family waiting room and staff the gift shop. It is difficult to make useful connections in the nursing world if you don't get to be near nurses.

There is no harm in giving it a try, but school comes first.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to General Nursing Student

[johsonmichelle]

I am hoping some experienced nurses can give me an opinion about volunteering as a nursing student in hopes of gaining some experience.

I am going into the 3rd semester in an ADN program this fall. I have been unsuccessfully looking for a PRN PCT job in hopes of getting my foot in the door at a local hospital. I haven't been employed in almost 10 years - I was a stay at home mom and worked for one year in my son's preschool class as a teachers assistant a few years ago before going back to school.

So I contacted the local birth center and offered to volunteer for them to gain some experience. They said yes, and I am really excited! I feel this will look good on my resume as well as give me some very valuable experience! I am sure if I do a great job, I will also have another valuable reference and also make connections! I am a hopeful NICU nurse and eventually a NNP (neonatal nurse practitioner), so I feel getting to know healthy mothers and babies is a great place to start!

Do you all think this is a good way to get started and gain some credibility as I try to reenter the workforce next summer?

Other than volunteering, I hope to be an excellent student at the local hospitals where I will do clinicals and make some impressions and connections.

Thanks y'all!

I'm also in the third semester of an adn program, If you can , search for a student nurse position. You get to function as a tech , but can work on a prn basis. I was searching for pct jobs earlier but stopped looking after getting the same feedback from majority of hospitals I applied too. The hospitals were looking for long term pct's who can fully commit to the hospital schedule, as nursing student you will not be able to do that so don't feel discouraged. If you are not able to find a student nurse job then volunteering can be a good way to network if you present yourself well.